The baby's body is very fragile. And, to great regret, the various disorders are not so rare - especially digestion disorders. Young mothers often complain of constipation in children. Do you read these lines? That means you probably know this problem. Let's try to deal with it together. And first we'll find out what constipation is. Doctors give this phenomenon the following definition - the reduction of stool compared with the individual characteristics of the child's body. In addition, constipation is also a difficult bowel movement. In fairness, it should be noted that in children it is sometimes difficult to detect constipation. And it is not surprising - the frequency of the chair varies very often - depending on the age of the children, the type of feeding the child and many other factors. It is only natural that mothers ask a question about what should be the frequency of the stool. It is very difficult to answer this question unequivocally. But nevertheless doctors have established average age norms:

• Children breastfed - from one to seven times
• Children on artificial feeding - two to three times a day
• Children from 1 to 3 years old - five to six times a week
• Children older than 3 years - at least four times a week

In the event that a child is observedsystematic constipation, we can assume the presence of functional pathologies of the intestine. In addition, culprits can be errors in nutrition, somatic diseases, and sometimes even congenital pathologies. Let's talk about this in more detail.

Who is to blame and what to do?

There are quite a lot of various reasons that can provoke the development of constipation. But we will focus only on the most frequently encountered factors:

• Intestinal motility. Often, the cause of constipation is a violation of normal intestinal motility, having both nervous and endocrine nature of origin. In such cases, up to 20% of all constipation occurs.
• Intestinal infections and dysbacteriosis. In principle, dysbiosis is almost a permanent consequence of intestinal infection, so we have combined these two reasons. Most often in parents, dysbacteriosis is associated with diarrhea. However, constipation is not less common. Therefore, if you are confronted with a similar problem, immediately pass the test feces.
• Hereditary diseases. Do not lose sight of and diseases such as Hirschsprung's disease, hypothyroidism, cystic fibrosis. They can also cause systematic constipation in children. As a rule, they arise from the very first months of the child's life.
• Almentary factors. A significant value for the normal digestive process of the child has a diet. Moreover, not only the regime, but also the diet itself. In the menu of the child must contain dietary fiber, liquid - this we will talk about a little lower.
• Reception of pharmacological preparations. Some medications can also lead to constipation. As a rule, the doctor should warn parents of possible side effects. But parents themselves should not be too lazy and be sure to carefully read all the annotations to the medicines they give to children.
• Lack of movement. As is known, for a normal functioning of the intestine the child must move sufficiently. Of course, for children lack of movement - the problem is not relevant, because kids are very difficult to keep in one place. But there are situations when this reason also takes place - for example, if the child is sick.
• Psychological reasons. In some cases, constipation has a psychological nature of origin, for example, stress, or fear. For example, if a child has an anal fissure, then he can restrain the urge to defecate, for fear of pain.

Mom's milk is a panacea?

Let's take a closer look at thisaspect, like constipation in an infant. This question raises the most questions and discussions among young parents. Can there be problems with stool in a child who is exclusively breast milk? Doctors - pediatricians claim that this really can be. In the event that the crumbs of the first few months of life do not have a chair during the day, most likely he simply does not have enough mother's milk. This should alert the parents. Address to the pediatrist - he will help to establish the reason of a problem and to find the adequate decision. In addition, in the development of any child there are so-called "jumps" of growth. In these periods, the baby's body needs much more milk, so the chair slides. It is explained very simply: feces in the intestine is extremely small, so it is practically impossible to push them outside. As a result, there is a significant dehydration of feces - they become very hard and the child is difficult to get rid of them. This period does not last long - a maximum of a week. After that, the mother's body adapts to the needs of crumbs, milk production increases, and the child's chair normalizes. As mentioned above, at the age of 6 months to a year, the chair should be at least 6 times a week. Although the frequency of the stool should not be the only benchmark. It is necessary to pay attention to the child's well-being, as well as to weight gain - if everything is normal, then there is nothing to worry about.

If constipation is a symptom of a disease

It has already been said that constipation canto be evidence of the presence in the body of a child of any pathology. As a rule, constipation is not the only symptom, so diagnosing a disease most often does not present any difficulty for doctors. But still, we will focus on the main points:

• Dyskinesia of the large intestine. This pathology is nothing but a violation of the motor function of the intestine. There are two types of dyskinesia: hypertonic - the muscular tone of the intestinal wall is extremely elevated, which is why emptying is extremely difficult, as well as hypotonic - in this case, the tone, on the contrary, is reduced. Accordingly, stool masses also does not excrete the intestine. This pathology is diagnosed by the nature of the stool, based on the study of bowel functions. For treatment, a corrective diet and physiotherapy are used.
• Hirschsprung's disease. This disease is much less common, but you should not lose sight of it either. It is characterized by an innate pathology of the structure of the colon - on any part of it there are absolutely no nerve endings, and therefore it does not participate in the reduction. Treatment of a similar pathology - only surgically. This operation is quite simple and does not pose any threat to the child.
• Dolihosigma. Another disruption in the structure of the intestine is the presence of an extra loop of the sigmoid colon. In this case, constipation occurs at an early age, immediately after the introduction of complementary foods. Treatment in most cases is also prompt.

And if milk does not have a mom? Just add water…

The fact that children on the breastfeeding, are not insured against the occurrence of constipation, we have already found out. But what about children who get artificial milk formulas? Do I suffer from constipation? According to doctors - yes. An artificial mixture very often becomes the main culprit in the occurrence of constipation in a child. Most often, the digestion and stool of the baby normalize quickly enough and without any intervention. However, in some cases this does not happen. And the only way to cope with this problem is to select another kind of mixture. And only occasionally this measure does not help. In such cases, doctors can advise enemas. And the mixture must be diluted less concentrated. Here we smoothly pass to the following reason, which can lead to the development of constipation. This is a lack of fluid in the body of the child. Most often, this problem is faced by children who are on artificial feeding. For babies this problem is not relevant - with mom's milk they get enough fluid. In all other cases, do not forget about the need to milk the baby with water. Yes, and for the drinking regime of a child of an older age, it is necessary to monitor more carefully - high physical activity often leads to dehydration of the body. Because of this, the stool masses harden, and getting them out of the body to the child becomes much more difficult. Introduction of complementary feeding In some cases, problems with stool in a baby begin with the introduction of complementary foods. After all, any food has a very strong effect on the process of digestion and, accordingly, on the chair of the child. For example, there is a very high likelihood of developing constipation in those children who get protein foods - chicken, dairy products, meat - earlier than it should be by age. In addition, we can not discount the fact that with the introduction of complementary feeding, very many children for some time lost interest in mother's milk. And during this period, it is also possible to develop constipation. In this situation, it is not necessary to panic - the chair will quickly return to normal. If this process drags on for more than one week, parents can help the body of the crumbs by monitoring its food regime. And about simple rules of introduction of complementary foods to forget also it is not necessary - it will help to avoid occurrence of the given problems.

In no case do not start introducing complementary foods earlier than 6 months.

For the first complementary feeding, it is recommended to use porridge and cooked vegetables. Of course, thoroughly crushed. Chicken meat pediatricians do not recommend giving children at least up to a year of age.

Be sure to consider the individual characteristicsdevelopment of the baby. Some babies lag behind in development, or are weakened due to certain diseases. Of course, the lure should be introduced a little later. Wise parents in such cases always consult a pediatrician. What we recommend you to do without fail. The doctor will be able to assess the condition of the child and give the necessary recommendations.

And again, and again ...

What to do in the event that the problemit repeats from time to time? The first thing that needs to be done is as soon as possible to seek advice from a pediatrician or gastroenterologist. The doctor will conduct all the necessary studies that will identify possible pathologies. If necessary, the doctor will prescribe a treatment that will help bring the child's chair in order. By the way, pay special attention - in no case is it inadmissible to give the child WHATVER THERE WERE NEVER pharmacological preparations. This can only significantly aggravate the situation. In the same case, if no serious pathology in the child is found, very much will depend on the parents. Psychological problem It has already been mentioned in passing that older children may develop constipation due to psychological factors. One case of constipation is enough, during which the child during the defecation experienced pain, so that the child developed a persistent fear of planting on the pot. The child suffers the urge to defecate, the stool masses, which are in the intestine for a long time, lose the liquid. It turns out a real vicious circle, which is difficult to break. But it is still possible. The first thing to do is to adjust the diet. Include in the menu of the child as much as possible products containing fiber - vegetables, fruits, cereals. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that the child uses at least one teaspoon of vegetable oil per day. In addition, many children are very effective in helping natural yogurt without any artificial additives and dyes. Do not forget also about dried apricots with prunes. Of course, you should not give their baby in unlimited quantities, but 5 - 6 pieces will come at the right time. Try to soothe the child as much as possible - show endurance and patience, in no case show signs of discontent, and even more so irritations. Once a child at least once goes to the toilet without pain, the problem will disappear by itself. Although, unfortunately, very rarely, but still there are cases when the fear still remains. As a rule, this is typical for children with a neurasthenic personality. In this case it is necessary to resort to the help of a child psychologist. In addition, sometimes a doctor can prescribe pharmacological drugs - most often homeopathic remedies.

Help kids

So, constipation in an infant: what to do? If it is a question of a baby eating Mom's milk, it is very important to pay attention to the diet of the mother herself. This measure with a high degree of probability will be able to adjust the stool of the baby. The mom's menu should contain a large amount of fiber and products that stimulate the defecation process. Such products include:

• Raw vegetables, except for cabbage - it increases gas formation and can lead to the appearance of intestinal colic
• Bread from a flour of a rough grinding
• Fruits, especially apples and pears
• Sour milk products - kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt
• Dried apricots, prunes, plums

As a rule, the first effect of such a dietfood is becoming noticeable by the end of the second day. Often doctors advise to carry out cleansing enemas. It is simple enough - boil half a glass of water, cool it to room temperature. Gather a full baby pear, lubricate the tip and gently insert it into the anus at a distance of one and a half to two centimeters. Gradually enter all the water and squeeze the baby's buttocks for a minute. Often an enema can be replaced with a gas pipe. It is inserted into the anus of the child in exactly the same way as the pear. Efficiency is no worse than a cleansing enema. Gases often go along with the feces, for the most part because of the irritation of the anal sphincter. But it is highly recommended not to abuse abusers or purgative enemas or flue gas ducts. Try also therapeutic gymnastics and tummy massage. Put the crumbs on the back, lubricate the fingers with massage oil and iron your stomach clockwise, lightly, very gently, pressing on the tummy. Massage should last at least 5 minutes. After that, gently lift the baby's legs, pressing his knees to the tummy. You need to repeat this exercise 15 times. If the doctor allows, you can try to solve the problem with glycerin suppositories. These candles in their shape resemble a bullet, and are made of glycerin, without any additional impurities. Therefore, they are absolutely harmless even for the youngest children. But the doctor still needs to consult. The principle of action of such candles is very simple: They turn out to be a reflex action on the rectum, which stimulates the appearance of desires. In addition, these candles lubricate the anus, which also greatly facilitates the process of defecation. However, these drugs should not be carried away. Of course, for the health of the child in terms of its composition of the candle is absolutely safe. However, there is a high risk of addiction. And as a consequence, a child without them going to the toilet will be very difficult. Before using, always consult your doctor.

When do you need to sound an alarm?

Are there any cases in which the parents shouldto sound an alarm immediately? Of course! First, babies are infants. If the baby does not have a chair for more than one day, take the child to the doctor as soon as possible. If you do not have such an opportunity, call an ambulance team. Of course, most likely the cause of constipation was a lack of milk, or other completely innocuous reasons. But in rare cases, constipation in the baby can be evidence of the development of intestinal obstruction. This condition poses a very serious threat not only to health, but also to the life of the baby. And in this case, urgent surgical intervention is required. If it is a question of children of more senior age, alarming "bells" are:

• Intense painful sensations. If the crumb complains of pain in the abdomen, or he has a flatulence - this may indicate an intestinal obstruction or other serious illnesses.
• Pale child. In the event that the child is pale, parents should also be worried. Especially in the event that pallor is accompanied by lethargy and increased fatigue of the child. This may indicate a strong intoxication of the body.
• Blood in the stool. Probably, it is not worth explaining the whole danger of this phenomenon. In some cases, blood in the stool may indicate internal bleeding - a very dangerous condition.

In conclusion, I would like to remind parents thatthe regularity of the stool in a child varies very individually. For someone once a day - the norm, but for someone and three times a week is enough. The main reference point is the child's well-being. If the chair is soft, and with the process of defecation the child has no problems, then there is nothing to worry about. Although, for your own comfort, you can always seek medical advice. We advise you to read:

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